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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.